[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 69 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H3748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HOLES IN NATIONAL GUARD BENEFITS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, last weekend I traveled back to Oregon, as 
I frequently do, and participated in an Armed Forces Day parade in 
Cottage Grove, Oregon. The particular focus this year was the return 
from Iraq of the 2162nd, a National Guard unit which is based in 
Cottage Grove, in the last 60 days. There was a good turnout among 
members of the community.
  Of course, we are looking forward next week to Memorial Day, which 
will be a sober event, as we will honor some of those who have recently 
lost their lives in service to our Nation.
  But one thing stands out in both of these celebrations and that is 
that there is tremendous support for our troops in uniform, but that 
support somehow is not getting translated in many ways into policy here 
in Washington, D.C., in the budgets proposed by the President that 
relate to offset of benefits for disabled veterans, a disabled veterans 
tax, that relate to other services for veterans or equity in benefits 
for the National Guard.
  Today, as I got to the plane, I saw an article ``Dental Problems 
Stymie Guard Call-ups.'' This particular article was about the National 
Guard in Washington State where 30 percent of the 4,500 called up were 
ineligible for active duty because of dental problems, 20 percent 
nationally. I do not know the percentage for Oregon; I have not seen 
it. But when I was meeting with members of the 2162nd, when they were 
down in Fort Hood prior to their deployment to Iraq, and the 
gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hooley) and I were meeting with them, this 
one fellow in the front says, I have a problem, Congressman; I would 
like you to try and help me out here.
  He opens up his mouth really wide and he is missing a couple of front 
teeth. I said, What is going on there? He said, I had two bad teeth. I 
went to my predeployment physical. They said, You have those bad teeth; 
we have to take care of them. So they yanked his teeth out and sent him 
to Fort Hood. But at Fort Hood they said, You are not active duty 
military. We are not going to take care of your problem. You go to the 
end of the line and you will be in Iraq before we get around to it.
  So he was going to go home to Oregon on his leave before he left to 
try to get false teeth inserted so he would not spend a year in Iraq 
with a big gap in his front teeth.
  We need equity in benefits and better benefits for our Guard members. 
We are treating the National Guard indistinguishable from active duty 
forces, yet they still often suffer in terms of equipment and they 
definitely suffer in terms of equity of benefits, health coverage for 
our Guard members before they are activated. All Guard members should 
receive health benefits during their service in the Guard. That means 
they will be ready to defend the country at the drop of a hat. They are 
ready to deploy. But it also is a good way to induce and recognize the 
service of these people in our National Guard.
  This morning when I got to the plane there was another Guard member 
there from Kingsley Air Force Base who does military police work, on 
his way to a conference. And he and I got in a little chat and we were 
talking about the proposed base closure in Portland. Then he said, When 
are we going to get recognition on our retirement benefits. The fact 
that Guard members have a set age instead of a set number of years of 
service, they are discriminated against.
  Education benefits, they are discriminated against. Active duty 
military soldiers serve in Iraq, come back, leave the military, can get 
education benefits. National Guard soldiers serve in Iraq, come back 
having finished their contract in their term, want to get education 
benefits. No. They have to sign up for another term in the Guard.
  But the active duty soldier did nothing to earn those benefits.
  We need equity in education benefits. We need better health care 
benefits. We need better pension benefits. We have to begin treating 
our National Guard members like the essential component they are of the 
Nation's national defense today.
  They are not an afterthought. They are the front line as much as the 
active duty military. And there can be no more fitting recognition by 
this House of Representatives coming up to Memorial Day, in the wake of 
Armed Forces Day, than to deliver on those changes in benefits and 
those improvements for our Guard soldiers and to better deliver 
veterans benefits for all of our Nation's veterans so that Lincoln's 
words do not become a hollow promise.

                              {time}  1945

  We will take care of our veterans. We can afford it in the greatest 
Nation on earth, and we should make good those promises before Memorial 
Day.

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